The Scramble: Hitler, Michelle Obama, Trump's Cabinet

His followers were “impressionable voters” duped by “radical doctrines and quack remedies,” claimed The Washington Post. Now that Hitler actually had to operate within a government the “sober” politicians would “submerge” this movement, according to The New York Times and Christian Science Monitor. A “keen sense of dramatic instinct” was not enough. When it came to time to govern, his lack of “gravity” and “profundity of thought” would be exposed.

If you didn't catch the reference to Hitler in John Broich's essay exploring the quandary of a media unsure how to cover an unprecedented political figure, you'd think he was talking about Donald Trump. How should the media treat a politician who continues to act outside political norms - even after elected by the people?

Also this hour: Jodi Kantor's biography, The Obamas, was released just prior to the 2012 election and focused as much on First Lady Michelle Obama as on her husband. This week, she releases a new edition to coincide with their departure.

Lastly, Congressional hearings for Donald Trump’s most controversial cabinet appointments are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The director of the Office of Government Ethics warns against holding hearings before the vetting process is complete. Congressional Republicans say no dice. Did I mention that the hearings are set to quietly coincide with Trump’s press conference and Obama’s farewell address?

GUESTS:

Jodi Kantor - New York Times correspondent and the author of The Obamas, which is being re-released

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Michelle Obama used her last official White House speech to deliver a passionate pep talk to the nation's young people, especially immigrants, Muslims and others who might feel slighted by the incoming Trump administration.

"Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you don't matter," the first lady said, "or like you don't have a place in our American story, because you do."